Much like the upcoming Avengers big screen movie, in the comics Marvel heroes are fighting each other. Only in the comics, it’s the Avengers fighting the X-Men and not fighting among themselves — although that happened a few years back with Civil War.

Anyway, we’ve got a preview of the latest installment of Avengers vs. X-Men for you today. To tell you more about this book, here’s some info from the official Marvel press release:

The war is here! Today in Avengers VS. X-Men #3, by the blockbuster creative team of Ed Brubaker and John Romita Jr., Captain America splits the Avengers up all across the Marvel Universe to find Hope before the X-Men do! But Cyclops and his team are hot on the mutant messiah’s trail and are not letting Earth’s Mightiest get in their way. With Wolverine’s loyalty still in question – Captain America must make a harrowing decision and the result will have everyone talking!

Avengers vs. X-Men #3 is in comic stores and Marvel’s digital app now. Click through to check out the preview pages.

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We know a good internet video trend when we see one. Since the turn of the new year, the new one seems to be taking a satirical (and 100% accurate) look at specific things that a group of people tend to say adnauseum.

Whether it’s Girls, Broke People, Blind People, or even White Girls, the trend is absolutely at an all-time high right now. With that, where is the cracks on people like us? The NERDS?

That’s where Jawiin on YouTube comes in. Daylighting as our very own comic reviewer Jason Inman, Jaawin put together this little tribute to the “sh*t people say” trend by bringing it home for the comic book fans.

So if you’ve ever been in a comic store, convention, or even know someone who’s a dedicated comic fan, this video will certainly apply to you. Check it out after the jump.

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For those who thought this weekend would be a relapse into the mid 1980s with the Footloose remake and reboot/prequel of The Thing, they should have taken into account how awesome gigantic, fighting robots are.

That’s right, after receiving mixed reviews for the first week of the film’s release, Real Steel managed to steal the #1 spot once again, bringing in $16.3 million for the weekend, and a total worldwide gross of $73.8 million so far. Not totally unexpected for a movie starring Wolverine, Evangeline Lilly, AND robots.

Taking the #2 and #3 spots this weekend were the send-offs to the 1980s. Paramount’s Footloose pulled in $16.1, just inches behind the #1 spot, where as the prequel/reboot venture of The Thing from Universal managed to underwhelm audiences and only make $8.7 million.

Finally, the indie comedy The Big Year, starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Steve Martin just squeaked into the top 10 with $$3.3 million. Hard to believe the film made that much considering the complete lack of a marketing strategy Fox made for it.

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It’s been year since the release of a quality X-Men title. Not since X-Men Legends and its sequel has there really been a game that captured the essence of Marvel’s band of merry mutants, especially with the pitiful movie tie-in titles that have been released.

When X-Men: Destiny was announced by Activision and Silicon Knights, the makers of Too Human, players hoped their prayers would be answered as they would get to experience what it was like for an emerging mutant caught between the turmoil of the X-Men, Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants and the humans who seek to end the “mutant menace”.

Instead, what they got was a half handed execution that feels like a franchise cash-in rushed out in order to hit the holiday game season before the larger releases like Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3.

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There’s no doubt that comics featuring the X-Men are some of the most popular of all time. The characters, situations and stories have captured the imaginations of millions of fans worldwide.

Over the years as they’ve gained in popularity, the X-Men have been comprised of many great members. Arguably, the most popular and iconic is Wolverine. And now, thanks to the gang at Marvel, he’s headlining another new comic coming soon.

That’s right folks. Here’s the scoop directly from Marvel:

“A brand new crew of X-Men in the oversized debut of Wolverine & The X-Men #1! From Marvel Architect writer Jason Aaron and fan favorite artist Chris Bachalo, this new team will have their hands full as the Hellfire Club makes their next move. With covers by Bachalo – no fan can miss this bold new era of mutantkind as X-Men: Regenesis continues in Wolverine & The X-Men #1!”

Look for the new book to hit store shelves on October 26. Check out the covers (in the larger, easier to see size) for issues #1 and #2 after the break.

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Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

Let’s get started!

• One of our favorite video game fanfilms of recent history, Fallout: Nuka Break is now an even more awesome web series. Enjoy it!

• Want to know what the Futurama characters would look like if they were real and in 3D? Check out these haunting clay busts of Zoidberg, Nibbler, Farnsworth, and Leela.

• Looking for that awesome party beverage for the long weekend? Why not bring it back to the 80s with a home replication of Hi-C’s Ecto-Cooler!

• Fans of both The Muppets and Doctor Who will both be entertained for hours and may have an exploded brain after seeing this mashup of the two universes.

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At Comic Con, the Flickcast got our first hands on with X-Men: Destiny to mixed reviews from the team. While the game is still some time away, there lies a lot of potential for the game to take a turn for the better or the worse. When we had the chance to talk to Denis Dyack, who also headed up past projects such as Too Human, it helped sooth some of our concerns. Now, with PAX this weekend, the team at Silicon Knights gives us some further insight into the game with its new Powers trailer and a host of new screen shots.

In the new X-Men: Destiny screens, our main characters Aimi, Grant and Adrian can be seen in costumes different from their original character designs. The most notable are Grant fighting alongside the Juggernaut in similar wardrobe and Aimi who is wearing what looks like a New Mutants style uniform. This could be a sign that over the course of gameplay, certain decisions will not only change the world in front of the characters but the appearance of the characters themselves.

In the Powers trailer below, all three power sets that can be chosen by any of the game’s three characters are seen in action. At Comic Con, we chose the Density Control which used close by rock and asphalt to create a melee focused set, giving players an experience similar to that of the X-Man Rockslide. Energy Projection looks to be more of a sniper class where players will have the opportunity to take out enemies from a distance, playing more like Cyclops. Shadow Matter looks like it combines a mix of the two giving players some distance attacks and other close up enhancements.

Take a look at the trailer and screens below. As always, stick to the Flickcast for more on X-Men: Destiny as it approaches its September 27th release for XBox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS.

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According to previous reports, Fox was looking at a Fall 2011 start date for the Christopher McQuarrie script for Wolverine 2 starring Hugh Jackman and directed by James Mangold. It now looks like production will not begin until the Spring of 2012.

Even though the studio says it never gave an official production start date, there are many rumored factors that would push back the start date.   The bulk of the screenplay takes place in Japan, and most of the shooting would be on location. According to studio insiders, it’s currently very difficult to find suitable shoot locations in Japan due to all of the weather-related considerations and current rebuilding process. It is now being rumored that the shooting will take place in Canada in conjunction with a secondary filming location.

The other factor that is being rumored to affect the start date is that production will wait until after Jackman finishes making Les Miserables.

The production has already faced some set backs, when Darren Aronofsky bowed out as director in March. By June, 20th Century Fox found their director after one of the most highly anticipated announcements of the summer. That set up the studio thinking that it could begin production in the fall.

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Marvel characters are popular these days, from multi-million dollar theatrical blockbusters to massively successful video games and cartoons. Now the iconic comic book heroes are invading another time honored medium that geeks the everywhere will drool over, cookie molds!

That’s right, Marvel has teamed up with Williams-Sonoma to produce a line of kitchen and bakeware exclusively for their stores.

Designed exclusively for the retailer, the products include renowned Super Heroes from the Marvel Universe including Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America and Iron Man.  Featuring retro character art and graphics, the Williams-Sonoma collection captures the charm and artistry of the original Marvel Comics. The program launches with an array of bakeware and kitchen essentials including Cookie Cutters, Pancake Molds, Adult and Child Aprons, Spatulas and Iced Cookies.

I, for one, am hoping this is a successful line so more obscure characters can get their time to shine in the kitchen. It is awesome to have Captain America pancake molds or Invisible Woman non-stick pans, but the world will truly be a better place when we have Ravage 2099 child aprons and Deathlok corn holders. Hopefully the people behind this epic cross over are thinking along the same lines. 

Recently, we got the chance to get hands on with X-Men: Destiny for the first time. In our demo we got to check out the first level of the game where we had the opportunity to choose between the game’s three possible protagonists Aimi, Grant and Adrian. When a massive Purifier attack hits downtown San Francisco, the player must also decide on the spot which of the three power sets they would like to equip their character with.

The early level surprisingly has a lot of conversation within it as players meet members of both the X-Men and Brotherhood who are both fighting against the Purifiers. Because of the noise in the Activision event, we couldn’t really hear the dialogue at the time but the gist we got was that both sides were already actively beginning to recruit this new mutant to their side.

X-Men: Destiny plays much like a standard 3D street brawler with the added bonus of mutant powers. There are your basic light, heavy, special and grab attacks along with blocking and dodging mechanics as expected. The gameplay itself was fun but the story possibilities are definitely the most intriguing part for us.

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Going back to the early days of comics, heroes have been created to stand for something. Peace, justice and the American way has been a strong theme since this trend began and never seemed to falter.

As time as passed, the simple blind patriotism has faded and led to more complex characters that have evolved with the times. Today, on the anniversary of America’s independence, we take a look back at some heroes and even some villains who have proudly worn the red, white and blue.

While there are many we don’t have the chance to look at below such as the Flag, Liberty Bell, the Shield or even the Spirit of 76, we look at all those heroes and what they stood for, the men and women who helped give us the freedom to be able to live in a land where these characters actually exist.

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That’s right comic book fans, it’s that time of the week again. New comics time!

New comics are out tomorrow from our friends at Marvel and, as always, we’ve got some we’re really interested in reading. Among the new ones coming out, we’re looking forward to Carnage #5, Deadpool #39, Wolverine #11, Iron Man 2.0 #6 and Secret Avengers #14.

As with most weeks, new comics out on Wednesday, so hit your nearest comic book store for best selection as many people may thing today is new comic book day this week.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:

BLACK PANTHER: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR #520
CAPTAIN AMERICA #619
CAPTAIN AMERICA #619 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT
CARNAGE #5
DEADPOOL #39
DEADPOOL #39 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT
DISNEY*PIXAR PRESENTS: CARS 2 #1
FANTASTIC FOUR: THE LAST STAND #1
FEAR ITSELF #2 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (FI)
INCREDIBLE HULKS #631
IRON MAN 2.0 #6 (FI)

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